Wednesday, 3 December 2008

Rimini to San Marino

Today its beach front with dirty sand beaches and run down hotels and pensions brings to mind the old British resorts of Hastings and Blackpool years ago.

Yesterday, we took the bus from across the road from the station to San Marino, which is the third small country in the world in terms of size. Measuring no more than 6km x 6km, it is a perfect example of the imaginary mini-statelet imagined in many movies such as "the Mouse that roared".

However, it is one of the oldest independent countries in the world with history allegedly dating back to AD 300.

The main town (San Marino) is situated on top of a rocky outcrop 750m above the nearby Adriatic Coastal plain. There are spectacular views from the top over the surround countryside,

Access is easiest by bus from Rimini. The bus takes 45 minutes and costs Euro 7.40 return. There are several services each day. These leave from in front of Rimini Train Station.